Handcuffed Man Shot in Back of Police Car

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(Jonesboro, AR) Teresa Carter just doesn't understand what happened to her son Chavis in the back of a police car. Officers picked him up, said he had drugs on him, and missed a court date on more drugs charges.

“As protocol he was handcuffed behind his back and double locked, and searched”, said Sergeant Lyle Waterworth, Jonesboro Police.

Somehow minutes later police say they heard a thumping noised, turned around and found Chavis dead, shot in the head, in the back of the squad car.

“Any given officer has missed something on a search, be it drugs, knife, razor blades, this instance it happened to be a gun” said Waterworth.

They're still investigating but they think Chavis, somehow managed to pull out a hidden gun and shot himself in the head.

She says her son called his girlfriend while pulled over, to say he'd call her from jail. The mother said she was also told her son was shot in his right temple. But she says he was left handed. She says it just doesn't add up.

Police say they’re still investigating and haven’t ruled out the possibility that someone else may have shot Chavis Carter. The officer involved is on leave while they investigate.